A great part of our cultural heritage is stored on motion picture film and other photographic based films. However, these films can deteriorate over time. Apparatus, such as that described in PCT/GB2012/052564, can be used to identify and/or assess the rate of deterioration of such films and record the images contained thereon and/or accurately convert such images to other mediums in order to preserve them by digitizing the films.
In addition, alternative motion picture scanners are available that comprise a light source, an optical line sensor (such as a CCD or CMOS based sensor), a mechanism for moving the film through the image collection area of the line sensor and means for connecting the sensor to a processing system, typically a suitably programmed computer.
In addition to the above considerations, in many industries, such as the motion picture film business, much effort goes into maximising the usable storage of a film. For example, frames of a motion picture film may comprise an image area, an area for an analogue soundtrack and an area for a digital soundtrack. In some examples, the analogue soundtrack can be provided between the image area and one of the sets of perforations of the film that extend along each side of the film and receive the sprockets of a sprocket driven film transport system. In some example, the digital soundtrack can be provided between individual perforations.
An object of the present invention is to address or mitigate at least one problem with the prior art.